Has the Ronaldo-Messi Debate Been Replaced by Mbappé-Haaland?
One of the major debates in football today is who is the better player: Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. The debate has been raging for years, and everyone has their own opinion on who is the better of the two. Some base it on individual performances and personal honours, whereas others base it on achievements and accolades they have picked up for club and country.
Cristiano Ronaldo is currently 37 years old, and Lionel Messi is 35 years old. In football terms, they are getting old. As they both slowly approach the ends of their careers, and although the Ronaldo-Messi debate will linger for many years to come, a new debate also seems to be emerging. Has the Ronaldo-Messi debate finally been replaced by ‘who is better between PSG’s Kylian Mbappé and Manchester City’s Erling Halland?’ Find out more right here.
The Ronaldo-Messi debate
Some people may prefer to watch Lionel Messi and will always say that he is the better player, and others will prefer to watch Ronaldo and say that he is the better player. One of the best ways to settle the debate between Ronaldo and Messi is to look at the awards both players have won. It’s that simple. Both players have won almost every major football award there is to win on multiple occasions. However, neither player has won the coveted World Cup trophy.
You could say that Lionel Messi is the best player because he has won the Ballon D’or more times than Ronaldo, and you could also say that Messi is the best player to ever grace La Liga (Spain’s top tier of men’s professional football) because he won the league title more times than Ronaldo. He has also won the Ligue 1 Championship (France’s top tier of men’s professional football) with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). However, Ronaldo has won La Liga with Real Madrid, the English Premier League with Manchester United, AND Serie A (Italy’s top tier) with Juventus, all on multiple occasions.
Whether you are in the Ronaldo camp or the Messi camp, the one thing that most people should be able to agree upon is that they are arguably two of the greatest players to ever play football. In previous generations, there has usually just been won standalone player that everyone has had their eye on, such as Alfredo Di Stefano, Johan Cruyff, George Best, Pele, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo (the original Ronaldo), Diego Maradona, and Michel Platini, to name just a few. Since the early 2000s, we have been lucky enough to have two ‘greats’ playing at the same time with Ronaldo and Messi.
They have played against each other on numerous occasions when Messi’s Barcelona have faced Ronaldo’s Real Madrid, and people have been lucky enough to witness the magic of both players in the same game multiple times, which is quite rare. Barcelona fans and sports fans, in general, will always view Messi as the best-ever player, and Real Madrid fans and many other football fans will say that Ronaldo is the better player. The debate will always be there.
On a slightly different note, while these two players continue to battle it out for their club and country before both players hang up their boots for good, don’t forget that you can still place a wager on a variety of Ronaldo and Messi betting markets. While they are not as prolific as in the past, both players still offer exciting ‘box office’ and betting options. You may also like to join the 10bet Africa affiliate program and make a living in an honest way via any successful referrals that you send to one of Africa’s best sports betting sites. Now let’s take a quick look at the other exciting new emerging rivalry.
The Mbappé-Haaland debate?
In recent years, the Mbappé-Haaland debate has gained traction, and it could go on as long as the Ronaldo-Messi debate has. Both players have already won several major honours, plus Kylian Mbappé has won the World Cup with France. Although it’s not to say that Haaland will never win the world cup, Norway are highly unlikely ever to reach the final, so you could say that Mbappé has won that particular argument already.
The best thing to do to see which of these two players is more likely to score the most goals or win certain upcoming awards, such as the Ballon D’or, would be to look to the major sports betting sites to see what kind of odds are currently being offered. For example, Erling Haaland is currently in fine form in the Premier League, and he is already the favourite to win the PFA Player of the Year award, and he will also no doubt be the highest goal scorer in the Premier League. Kylian Mbappé is also the odds-on favourite to be the highest goal scorer in Ligue 1, and he is also the favourite to win France’s equivalent best player award, so it’s a tough one.
However, neither player is currently the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or. The current favourite to win football’s most coveted individual award is Karim Benzema (Real Madrid). In UK fractional odds, he is currently priced at around 1/20 to win, which is -2,000 in American/Moneyline odds, and 1.05 in European decimal odds. In comparison, Erling Haaland to win the Ballon D’or is currently priced, on average, at around 16/1 (+1,600, or 17.00), and Kylian Mbappé is the third odds-on favourite to win, priced at around 20/1 (+2,000, or 21.00).
Only time will tell which of the two players will be more successful. Just like the Ronaldo-Messi debate, it’s hard to say, and the debate will no doubt rage on for years to come. Again, we are lucky to be living in a time where we get to see two phenomenal players dazzling us with their goal-scoring abilities week in and week out, rather than just one player. Just like Ronaldo and Messi, Mbappé and Haaland will use each other’s success to improve themselves as individuals, which means that there’s lots more still to come from these two amazing football players, and it’s exciting times for football fans around the world.
